Silence reclaimed the Cathedral. In the cursed reach of the Forgotten Shore, there was no moon to grace the sky. Instead, the sickly, pale glow of phosphorescent plants clinging to the high walls cast faint blue shadows across the marble floor—a floor that had now been transformed into a lethal trap.
I held my breath in the highest, darkest reaches of the hall. My body had become one with the chill of the stone, hidden by the effects of [Hybrid Blood].
Suddenly, the silence shattered. Heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed through the nave. The "Guardian" had entered. His pitch-black armor seemed to swallow what little light remained, and his greatsword, a slab of dusk-colored steel, scraped against the floor behind him with a terrifying metallic rasp. He moved like a mountain of shadow, his focus fractured and weary following the Priestess's departure.
"Time to wake up, you overgrown statue."
I manifested the [Vanguard Soldier] Echo directly in the center of the hall. The hulking warrior appeared out of thin air and let out a roar that shook the very foundations of the building. The Knight froze for a split second before charging toward the Echo like a black hurricane.
That was the signal. While the Knight gathered his momentum to crush the Echo, I triggered the release mechanism.
CRACK!
The section of the marble ceiling I had destabilized gave way. In a desperate, suicidal maneuver, the Echo lunged forward and locked its arms around the Knight's black breastplate, pinning him directly into the kill zone. The sound of the collapsing stone was like an explosion, pulverizing everything beneath it.
[Your Echo has been destroyed.]
The Spell's cold voice echoed in my mind as the Echo dissipated into shards of light, its duty fulfilled. The Knight, however, was buried under tons of rubble.
I didn't wait for the dust to clear. I vaulted from my perch, and while mid-air, I summoned the [Dread Spike].
Rank: Awakened.
Tier: II.
Type: Spear.
Ability: [Piercing Will] – The blade of this spear grows increasingly sharper the more the user focuses on a single point, granting it the power to breach even the heaviest of armors.
Channeling every ounce of my enhanced muscle fiber, I hurled it toward the gap in the wreckage where the Knight was struggling to rise.
SHIII-THUD!
The spear found its mark, piercing the Knight's shoulder and pinning him to the marble floor. A cry—a mixture of agony and pure disbelief—erupted from behind his helm. He was severely weakened; his black plate was shattered, his left hand crushed under a ton of rock, and crimson blood began to stain the white marble.
Yet, he did not die. With inhuman strength, he smashed the remaining debris with his lone good hand and rose unsteadily, wrenching the spear from his own flesh with terrifying indifference. He staggered, but his eyes behind the visor burned with a dark, dying light.
I lunged at him, utilizing [Silent Tread] to circle his flank. The Knight swung his massive black sword in a desperate arc, but the oil I had poured betrayed him. His foot slipped, sending the strike wide. Even so, the pommel of his blade slammed into my left shoulder with the force of a battering ram.
CRUNCH.
I heard the bone shatter. My arm went dead at my side, and a white-hot flare of agony nearly blacked me out. But I didn't stop. We both retreated—he was bleeding profusely, and I was gasping for air, blood trickling from my twisted grin.
The Knight was preparing his final stand, gathering every remaining drop of his essence to erase me. He raised the black sword high, the sheer pressure of his aura making the Cathedral walls tremble.
In that fatal moment, I triggered the [Mimic Stones] I had planted directly behind him. From the darkness behind the Knight, a soft, trembling voice—dripping with fear—echoed through the hall. It was the voice of the Priestess he had bid farewell to just yesterday:
"Please... stop!"
The Knight's blade froze in the air. In that single second where he turned his head toward the source of the voice, I moved like a demon possessed. I leaped onto his back, driving [Piercing Fang] into the narrow slit of his helmet, straight into the throat.
I ripped the blade sideways with a violent wrench, tearing through tendons and vertebrae until the black mountain finally fell. His heavy body hit the floor with a final, hollow thud, and the light in his eyes flickered out.
I stood over him, ignoring my shattered shoulder, watching as his body grew cold, leaving behind the shimmering runes and the voice of the Spell announcing my victory:
[You have slain an Ascended Human: Lars.]
[You have received an Echo: Oathbound Knight.]
Heh... hehe...
The key is finally within my reach, and the [Oathbound Knight] is mine.